Pizza is a very popular food item, and the number of food establishments which provide home delivery of fresh, hot, pizza continues to rise. Pizza is typically delivered in large, square cardboard boxes, although sometimes the boxes may be hexagonal or octagonal. The boxes are usually made of corrugated cardboard which provides insulation to keep the pizza warm and forms strong, rigid container to protect the pizza.
While these cardboard pizza boxes function well to protect the pizza during delivery, they are difficult to dispose of after the pizza is eaten. Their large size makes it difficult to fit them in household trash containers, and their rigidity makes it difficult to fold them. Moreover, even if the box fits in the container it takes up a substantial amount of space. Because of these difficulties pizza boxes are often found hanging out of trash cans or simply left on top of to the side.
The present invention overcomes the foregoing problems by providing a pizza box which, after use, is adapted to be broken down in a plurality of manageable pieces to facilitate disposal, and a method of disposing of such pizza boxes. Generally the pizza box of the present invention comprises top and bottom panels, each having front, rear, left side, and right side edges. A rear panel hingedly connects the top and bottom panels together at their rear edges. There are left side, right side, and front flaps at the left side, right side, and front edges of the top and bottom panels, respectively. At least one divider strip extends across at least the top and bottom panels, for dividing the top and the bottom panels into smaller component pieces for easier disposal. There are preferably at least two divider strips, one extending across the top panel from one side edge to the other, and the other extending across the bottom panel from one side edge to the other. According to a first embodiment of the invention, the divider strip comprises a zip rule extending across the top and the bottom panels. The zip rule is formed by spaced parallel lines of perforations defining a strip which can be separated from its respective panel to divide the panel into pieces. According to a second embodiment of the invention, the divider strip comprises a high-strength tear strip extending across the top and the bottom panels that can be pulled through its respective panel to divide the panel into pieces.
Generally, the method of this invention comprises providing a pizza box having top and bottom panels, each having front, rear, left side, and right side edges; a rear panel hingedly connecting the top and bottom panels together at their rear edges; left side, right side, and front flaps at the left side, right side, and front edges of the top and bottom panels; and at least one divider strip extending across at least the top and bottom panels. After the pizza box is used, the divider strip is grasped and pulled to divide the top and bottom panels into smaller component pieces, which are easier to dispose of.